Well
we certainly haven't finished with this year yet, still good things coming
out, not sure how all these other magazines and websites are running their
best of 2008 end of year lists already... that incredible Huntsville album
isn't out until this coming Monday, surely that figures? Too late, most
have deamed the year already over...

Looking for new mistakes to make
and specialisation is for insects and the mistake of recycled second hard
worship that just won't do for You and poetry must be in motion, pregnant
with words once more, whipped in to shape and sitting just obediently right.
Careful steps and bugs that bite legs, pegs in place holding everything
down. Lemon with your tea today? We've no time to proof read - coffee,
bananas and heavy metal is what we're here for, almost Angel Witch time
and Fight Like Apes are back in town tomorrow, band of the year easily
don't yer think? And how good was Zack Hill and The Present last night...?
And the new Jelas release. More of that next week, year far from over here....

These are, once again, the
things that have been in our ears this week. Please do explore and if it
sounds interesting then just hit the link and make your own minds up, make
contact, go switch the other - don't let this thing blow over, we've done
with undercover - our reviews and thoughts are mere signposts designed
to guide you to the things you might like to feast on yourselves... don’t
you just love the instant way this web thing works when things fall right
and the doors flip open and the touch of a key....

ORGANS
vs ORGAN READERS....

Yes,
that’s right, us versus you time. We’re almost ready for those end of year
lists and arguments and top this and best of that and such....

Now
you know we like to publish a top fifty albums of the year at the end of
every year. Last year the top three albums, in the opinion of the Organ
team, were from EFTERKLANG, followed closely by UPSILON ACRUX and TOMAHAWK.
You seamed pretty much in agreement with the choice last year. Although
some of you said things like “no!” and felt sure the best album of the
year came from William D Drake or Of Montreal or Animal Collective or Battles
or Future Of The Left or Sleepytime Gorilla Museum or 65Days... actually,
now, I might agree about Sleepytime, we only had it as fifth best last
year.

So
anyway, pass the cake, and more jam this time please, 2008 has been another
great year, loads of great albums, some possible classics. We’ve had a
great album of the week every single week, all the way through the year,
here at Organ. Flick through some back issues and remind yourselves, it
is almost too much... We’re not going to list them all right here and now
and we’re certainly not going to pick a random number of albums for you
to pick from - no pre-selected hands tied behind your back shortlist and
us dictating what you can vote for a shortlist list we give you! The Organ
People’s vote is open to every single album that has come out in the year,
every single one that has come out already (or indeed still coming out
in what is left of) 2008. Go ahead, make a list, check it twice, then fire
your top ten albums of the year right on at us and we’ll compile a definite
Organ readers end of year poll to go along side the Organ team’s own top
fifty.

Wonder
if your list will agree with ours? Bet it won’t. We’ll keep it open until
the last minute of December 31st, get your list in and have a look sometime
around new year’s day.

Oh
yes, and we’ll put the names of everyone who sends something in to a hat
and draw out one of you, one lucky person will win copies of the top five
albums from our list... Send your top ten albums in here
along with anything else you see fit...Xx

John on the phone...

ORGAN
ON YOUR RADIO - WEEKLY on SUNDAYS AT 9.00pm via RESONANCE
104.4FM in London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com
THE DETAILS, THE FACTS, THE LINKS.... Back last week after a week off making
way for OTOMO YOSHIHIDE and the Resonance Radio Orchestra. There's always
something Good happening at Resonance FM - the art of sound, the art of
listening.

More
details of the weekly alternating Organ hour and Organ Other Rockshow herex

Last week's looked and sounded
like this...

Organ OTHER ROCK SHOW with
Marina, Resonance 104.4FM, 9.00PM Sunday December 7th 2008

HUNTSVILLE – Eco, Arches
& Eras (Rune Grammofon) - Seven minutes into the second rather intriguing
twenty-one minute track the female vocals suddenly kick in - just as your
head is getting in to the idea of the rather different instrumental avantness
and the rhythmical challenge that’s going on. The sudden arrival of vocals
is almost shocking - a jolt - and then, just as quickly, they're gone,
never to be heard again - on we go with compelling rhythms and the demanding
forward movement, the cross pollinating, the colour, the almost African
riffs that drive over the warm welcoming drones that build up and take
us to who knows where – this really is a thrilling ride, first real listen
and whoever they are they have me hooked. I have no idea who they are,
haven’t looked at the name on the cover of the two CD set yet. And where
did she go with her voice? There for a minute and then gone again – this
is brilliant actually - entrancing, hypnotic, so different - fast, full
of energy, new rhythms, new musical places. Seems they’re called Huntsville
and this second track is heading for an amazingly powerful climax - they’ve
been slowly building up in to a frenzy, not too much of a frenzy you understand,
everything is in control - the power of the music they’re making is harnessed,
the artists in control. So many experimental textures in there, so much
going on, always controlled and considered, the music makers in control
and nothing running away. Organic, tribal, forward moving.... Huntsville
are a trio from Norway, twenty minutes in to this second track and we’ve
kind of hit a calm bit - double bass holding the motion while things ting
and chime and counterbalance – the second track is called Eco and
it leads us into a delicate two minute piece of minimalism that glides
along with a precisely plucked acoustic guitar.
There’s all kinds of instruments being played here, in fact, along with
the guitars, banjos, the pedal steel, the warm resonant double bass, the
variety of percussion, the tabla machine, sarangi box and the shruti box,
all three are credited with playing “various other instruments”. These
are groove based compositions, all strong pieces, improvised apparently
– seem very focused though, improvised music so often has a habit of disappearing
down the road or turning in on itself. Losing itself in some idea of indulgent
self-importance, Huntsville, on this first disc of two, never do that -
this is beautifully unpretentious and feels so naturally right. Others
have talked of hypnotic country yoga, of abstract drone Americana, and
yes to some extent that could be right - really not that easy to pin down
though, nothing that obvious – drone music, folk music - some of those
bright rhythms are surely born of Africa – that thing that’s bafflingly
called World Music? African banjo music? This is from nowhere, this is
from everywhere... this is wonderful, this is different - and we're still
on disc one....
Disc two is totally different, well no, not totally, a live recording featuring
Nels Cline and Glenn Kotche from Wilco playing alongside the Norwegian
three piece. One whole fifty-four minute piece of work that really does
sound like the abstract drone Americana that others were talking of. It
really isn’t anywhere near as compelling as the delights of the first disc
though, back to that first one again I think, we’ll save disc two and explore
it later, the first disc is calling right now, must play it again... all
kinds of fresh things on that first disc, been going back and dipping in
to if for days on end now...www.huntsville.no
/ www.runegrammofon.comxxxx

ALSO
CHECK OUT

VARIOUS – SPECIALISATION
IS FOR INSECTS (Ex Gratia) - Reviewing compilation albums is a headfunk,
every track in need of words and analysis and people getting all irate
when you don’t mention their band or track – never mind all that, does
is work as one whole? Can you throw it on and leave it running on repeat?
Are there things on here that I didn’t know about and that I need to go
find out more about right away? The answer to all that is a big bad YES!
Already been off to find out more about the New York Carnival punk of FLAMING
FIRE and I must go explore THE DOOMED BIRD OF PROVIDENCE in a moment, that
track has really grabbed me today. RUDE MECHANICALS are already Organ favourites
with their aliens and their other-jazz and Ms Roberts and her theories
on tube mice... Mice aren’t insects though and today BATRIDER are sounding
rather good, as is the forthright English grunge of TEN CITY NATION (that
track is really telling me I should get around to downloading the album
they have up on line for free). CHENKO have a Lou Reed from South London
feel, no idea if they are from South London, just feel like they are. ANARCHISTWOOD
are having punk rock snake problems, snakes aren’t insects either... A-LINE
sound good, it all sounds good, THE ELECTRIC BRAINS with their frantic
60’s meets Devo garage rock, and DISTANT NEIGHBOUR. It all works, it all
sounds good, and every time I listen I have a different idea about who
I like best – yesterday it was Flaming Fire, today Batrider, everyday Rude
Mechancals... it works! A DIY compilation on vinyl (wrapped in good looking
collaged artwork) or available to download from the Punkvert/Ex Gratia
collective of London DIY movers and shakers – they got a label, they make
films, they put on gigs, they’re in bands, they probably bake cakes...
This is just what you want from a compilation, go explore – www.punkvert.tv/exgratiarecordings
or www.myspace.com/exgratiarecordingsxxxx

ELECTRIC MUD GENERATOR –
To The Disdain Of Polyhymnia (Total Prog) – Sunlight will devour you while
she dances away. They come from the North West of England, they come from
the 70’s and Hawkwind’s visions of the future and Grand Magus and winters
that bring ice and snow and vultures that inherit the earth... Porcupine
Tree for Neurosis disciples, Pagan crowns and thirteen minute doom-folk
epics that give way to twenty two minute pieces that open with acoustic
guitar crafted delicateness and angelic folk girl with milk white skin
voice and shallow breathing and slow build up to violin textures and epic
ideas once more... Who she is we do not know for the band are listed as
an all male three piece – 70’s in all kinds of ways then. Oh there she
is, listed as an after-thought, her name is Ellie and her voice adds so
much... Towering hippy-progness and folky metal and ambitious touches or
Circulus or Sabbath or Jethro Tull and those start of the 80’s heavy rock
bands like Trespass or Angel Witch - and forests as far as the reach of
their sight and slabs of prog-sludge and big riffs in even bigger black
space rock cauldrons. Monolithic riffage and real ale drenched self indulgent
henge-moving psychedelic metal reflecting the stars. Light against the
onset of seclusion – monsterously self-indulgent 70’s drenched progressive
heavy rock... love it (even though they should have given Ellie more credit).
They open with a fifteen minute sonic attack, nail their colours to the
mast and never let up - www.electricmudgenerator.co.uk

THE TRUTH ABOUT FRANK – A
Briefcase Full Of Suspicion (LYF) - Seven track CD, seven slices
of organic electronic experimental noise. Kind of soothing in a buzzing
clanking forward moving gentle noise kind of way, nothing too abrasive
or violent – creatively subtle, imagination is their chosen weapon. Machine
clanks and the music of factory machines rewired - positive repetition
and found sound manipulation, are those voices underneath? Are those voices
on the disc or in my head? Ah yes, both... suspicion, paranoia, clunks
and clanks - all very soothing though, in the same way that watching production
lines is soothing, or printing presses are soothing, or those strange voices
you hear that sooth so much – www.myspace.com/truthaboutfrank

AGATHOCLES – Grind is Protest
(Displeased) - Back to basics raw brutal primitive old school grindcore
thrash metal violence. Sounds like they recorded it in a cardboard box
‘round the back of Rip Cruncher’s gaff while a gang of pissed-off possessed
(or at least cider fuelled) yappy dogs took turns growling at them. They
should have set the yappy dogs on whoever mic’d up the drum kit, sounds
like one of those plastic kiddy ones you buy your least favourite relative’s
hideous offspring for Christmas. This is either dreadful or a work
of utter genius, I stuck around for the first thirty six songs, grind is
indeed protest... www.agathocles.com
or www.displeasedrecords.comxxxx

SONIC
RENDEZVOUS BAND – Live, Masonic Auditorium (Alive) - So what you really
have here is a slice of punk rock history. Recorded live, opening for the
Ramones in Detroit on January 14th 1978 (on the very same night that the
Sex Pistols played for the very last time at Spacelands in San Francisco
– that “ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated” sneer of a gig - you
know the one). The Sonics Rendezvous Band were Fred Smith, Gary Rasmussen,
Scott Ashton and Scott Morgan and this is a legendary live recording. Spawned
from the remnants of The MC5, STOOGES, RATIONALS and The UP, Fred "Sonic"
Smith (MC5) joined forces with Scott Asheton (Stooges), Scott Morgan (Rationals)
and Gary Rasmussen (The Up), to make some of the legendary music that for
the most part, at that time, remained unheard by most. Opening for the
Ramones to a packed venue and 3000 people on home turf, this is simply
an electric recording! Back there The Ramones considered these guys
unsung heroes – seems they mean a hell of a lot more today than they did
back there in ’78. This is classic Detroit style Stooges/MC5 garage punk
– right there, live and raw, street walking cheetahs all gone with the
dogs. Originally recorded on a cassette tape, the quality is that of a
really good bootleg – and you might say all the better for it. Just classic
kicking out of the jams, what more do you need to know? Classic – www.alivenergy.comx

THE
TROUBADORS – Stolen Time (Self Release) – There’s a great banjo driven
version of Oh Suzanna, you know the one – For I come from Alabama,
With a banjo in my knee... the version really is totally wasted as
a hidden bonus track that you only discover if you accidentally leave the
CD running for ten minutes or so after things have finished. I Guess it
doesn’t quite fit in with an album that’s made up of eleven original songs
though? Eleven authentic sounding originals from the rather fine
Alt.Americana outfit. If you like your alternative American country music
and your intelligent kind of Steve Earle feel, then this rather mellow
album in one you most certainly need to check out. Impressively enjoyable
stuff - refined bluegrass, gentle country rock and the finest kind of mellow
Americana (all without the rose tinted spectacles). Don’t think we’ve encountered
them before, reached down for the press release to find out with Southern
US state they’re from – West Yorkshire! Well I guess we live in global
village, and they certainly sound authentically right. Eclectic American
alt.country, melancholic songs of protest, of life, of loss - fine fine
songs, uplifting and inviting even when things are downbeat. Seems this
is their debut album, they’ve made a fine debut – Steve Earle, Neil Young,
Tom Petty, Gram Parsons and a more than healthy blend of American alt.country
rock. Fine songs, fine guitars, banjos, mandolins, fine voices, fine words
- oh and it seems the main man is Steve Chapman Smith, one time Red lorry
yellow Lorry, Ghostdance, Fiat Lux man... who’d have thought it! Fine fine
songs from a fine band with a clear love for their craft, and if this sounds
like your kind of thing then this is a rather highly recommended album
– www.thetroubadors.co.uk
or www.myspace.com/thetroubadorscouk

VARIOUS – THE WICKED SOUNDTRACK
by AL JOURGENSEN (13th Planet) – Compilation film soundtrack album put
together my yer man from Ministry and throwing together a whole bag load
of his side projects (along with a few guests) for some kind of alternative
industrial metal buffet of an album... Tracks from REV CO, MINISTRY in
the shape of a couple of cuts from that recent Ministry And Co-Conspirators
album, namely banging raging industrial versions of Bang A Gong
and Golden Earring's Radar Love. Oh couple of regular MINISTRY tracks
on here as well, including a previously unreleased track Cuz U R Next.
You’ve got things from PRONG, ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS, HEMLOCK, MESHUGGAH
and more... A decent mix of industrial flavoured alternative metal and
such. Nothing that groundbreaking here but the variety of contributors
adds some spice the whole affair and makes for a rather decent collection
of industrial goodness. Nothing that excitingly different, all wholesomely
good, kind of what you’d expect from Al Jourgensen, Ministry, their friends
and associates. Find out more from www.thirteenthplanet.com

WEDNESDAY 13 – F**k It, We’ll
Do It Live (DVE) – Proper live mistakes-and-all raw-throated no overdubs
live album from the cult glam punk band. All your expletive fuelled Wednesday
13th favourites coming right at your head with relentless ferocity, that’s
if you should want them relentlessly coming at your head – all sounds a
little one dimensional to me, all at the same speed, all the same raw-throated
vocal sounds and raw guitar textures. Heard one song, you’ve almost heard
them all in terms of this live album... kind of get bored with it after
a handful of tracks - probably fun if you were there in the pit with a
beer or two inside you, not as a live album in your own space and time
though... There’s a live DVD that comes with this as well, think we’ll
pass – www.myspace.com/wednesday13

LOSS LEADER – Loss Leader
(predestination) – A dark heavy set of slabs, a one man drum machine and
guitar band from Scotland with a bleak Big Black, Joy Division styled sledgehammer
to crack a nut. Dark, nihilistic, angry sounding - nothing subtle here
- delivering handshakes like bombs. Kind of unsubtle Joy Division for Melvins
fans and heading out towards death metal at times... Not quite hitting
the spot in any major way here, not bad though – www.predestinationrecords.com

VARIOUS – CARRY ON LOVIN’
(MOMT) – A whole mix of dance, experimental electronica and things
that head towards industrial metal - slices of techno and such – Audio
War, Vultures, Skink, Gusto Extermination Squad, Shinji Yamashita, K-Nitrate,
UCNX, Semi0n are all in there amongst the seventeen tracks. The album works
as one decent enough whole, a constantly changing electronic soundscape
and a rather good compilation. Nothing massively jumping out at us, decent
enough though. Comes as a download or a limited edition CDr in a good looking
handmade cover – www.momt.co.uk

VARIOUS – A VERY CHERRY CHRISTMAS
VOL 4 (Cherryade) – The forth annual collection of home made Christmas
songs from the ever productive (sweet-sending) Cherryade team. Eighteen
slices of trifle, mince pie, cake and varying degrees of that trademark
Cherryade lo-fi indie goodness and tweeness and scratchiness and popiness
(and Ste McCabe hissing and spitting and trashing Marks And Sparks and
The Daily Mail’s idea of a cosy Christmas in the middle of it all – you
have to love Ste!). The Bobby McGees, Micropenis, Ten Tigers, Hotpants
Romance – our favourite is from Lovely Eggs and their song about
dinosaurs – www.cherryademusic.co.uk.
xxxx

– One
of those late night Brixton gigs, South Central are first outfit on - do
we call them a band? Not tonight, there’s only two of them up there. There
is a five piece version of South Central that really does blur the boundary
between dance DJ and live band, not tonight though, tonight is the two
man DJ, laptop and keyboard set. They’re on at something like 9.30pm, most
of the audience are still making their way in, preferring the decent pubs
to the overpriced watered down fizz that’s your only option in this Carling
sponsored venue. Pendulum are why almost everyone is here tonight, South
Central are the reason we’ve dragged ourselves to Brixton on a freezing
Friday
though.

Two man set tonight then, up there on the (very) big stage with their table
of delights looking a little lost in the middle of it all – re-mixing and
mashing things up, frantically punching computers and synth keys, they
somehow manage to pull the walls in and make it intimate. Is it me or do
most of this audience not know this Killing In The Name slice of Rage Against
The Machine they’re mixing up in a rather demandingly meaty way? There’s
a flicker of recognition and they clearly do have their own following in
evidence down the front, the place should be jumping for this though. The
two of them are up there, trademark hoods up, heads nodding, climbing all
over their centre stage table that now seems to be growing in size and
presence at things build. Crunching on squelchy keyboards and silver laptops,
demanding hands in the air, slowly warming things up and winning over the
ever filling hall. Bites of Justice, Josh Wink, Prodigy’s Firestarter all
in there taking things to a higher state – hardcore dance feeding in to
hard rocking techno...

This is working, the atmosphere is building, people are reacting, the front
is starting to jump, yes! There’s dozens of camera phones in the air amongst
the arms catching the action – more and more arms going up in the air,
people starting to jump and move further back.... Of course any historical
condition can only really be understood just as it passes away, yer nineteenth
century philosopher man Hegel will tell you that, he of The Owl Of Minerva
– which of course is what their rather tasty new album is called – and
it really is only at the end of the set as it all passes away that the
main body of the now in the house audience are working out how good they
are. Nu Rave really is what it feels like tonight in this big venue, new
generation of Human Traffic moving through. Kind of get the feeling this
is all new and fresh to most in here, teenage indie kids and emo styles
discovering the delight of squelch and the pleasure of mass dance movement...
The South Central two pull it off completely by the end, they turn and
walk off to the cheers of lots of new friends won - the place more than
warmed up in time for Pendulum. Shame then that Zane ‘Radio One’ Lowe got
in the way and on to stage to bring it all back down with an hour long
set of him shouting before said Pendulum then. South Central, like we said
with the album review back there, they’ve got a little extra to them, something
the others don’t have, a little more than just waving a glow stick here,
check ‘em out, they’re worth it both two piece and five piece versions
– www.myspace.com/southcentralmusicxxxx

– A Dexter Bentley Pub Pop
(rather than Sub Pop) night, brought to you by the Dexter Bentley radio
show at Resonance FM. The Miller in a rather unpretentiously friendly pub
venue just off Borough High Street - just south of the River at London
Bridge, nicely relaxing band/audience friendly room above a pub down a
side-street, a welcome alternative to the hyperbol look at me self-importance
of Hoxton or the stale fly infested industry stench of dying Camden.

Plug are on when we get there, a drum and bass two piece - no, not that
kind of drum and bass... Two girls, one called Sian and one called Georgie,
one playing rather forceful drums while singing, the other playing bass
with her hands and lo-fi keyboards with her bare feet while adding vocal
lines. They’re kind of feisty and spiky in a new wave way, kind of
life-saving if you were to be a small animal - no traps or anything. Hypnotic
and stripped right back, almost tribal in a locked on punky new wave way,
massively watchable despite the sparse set up and the lack of central
focal point – though you could argue the drummer was just that. Kind of
lo-fi riot grrl undercurrent, a post punk feel that could almost be 1979
all over again, fresh pleasure nonchalantly played, attention demand start
to the night...

Hands On Hands next, decent DJ in between, Hands On Heads are infectious,
they’re abrupt, they’re bright and sunny, pin-point sharp. Hands on heads
is what happened when you misbehaved at the primary school I went to -
paint spilt on the floor, squalor alive once more, stand in the corner,
hands on head. Sunshine punk is there explanation, you’d get dizzy with
your hands on your head while Hands On Heads played, they’re frantic and
hyper in an uplifting bright poppy hello-little-doggy hand-on-heart way.
Unrepetitively repetitive cardiac arrests and lines and words that keep
jumping out in the maelstrom of pop and the sharpness and the jagged pointed
bits that sound hardboiled and poppy - and you are not alone, brightness
is real and here, keep up, keep up, nothing feels out of place. Four of
them, organ, bass, guitar and drums. Rhythms that can’t be upset, and really
unlike anything we’ve encountered recently, maybe bits of Ring or Gag or
knowing where the manhole vandal lives, we haven’t encountered any of them
recently though (especially that manhole vandal). Four of them infectious
and combusting and frantic and no wave new wave and tying perfect bows
in the middle of what sounds like chaos but really isn’t. Mid 90’s TV themes?
And no one ever intended to run away and a new fiction is what they are
– sharp notes, ringing notes, new fiction - tunes that jingle, new wave
surf, happy sounds, a band with personality, too much orange juice, hyperactive
- it really is ok, they know nothing’s wrong. Infectious no wave sharp-pop
otherness, they paint frantic musical brainbows...

Two good bands and we like gigs like this where someone has taken time
to put an inspired bill together and cross pollinate... Rose Kemp is why
we’re really here though, tonight Rose and her band are a three piece –
Joe Garcia on bass, James King on drums and Rose herself on guitar and
extremely rich vocals. A heady blend of exhilarating old school heavy rock
and folk-edged English prog. She has us mesmerised from the off, entranced
in her musical seduction, her darkness when the day is done in her brooding
riffs anchored down by that really strong and rather compelling, rather
visual, rhythm section – colourful old school prog drumming, powerfully
atmospheric, a drummer who’s entertaining to watch - hand over the top
of neck inch-thick-strings bass playing holding it all in place. The three
of them are conjuring some serious English sounding spot-hitting heavy
rock alchemy tonight, this wouldn’t be lost sharing the same stage as Electric
Wizard, Cathedral or even bands like Kayo Dot. Brooding riffs, slowly uncoiling,
swooping grace, powerfully carrying all before them. None of the keyboard
that’s to be found on the new album here tonight - she does sometimes play
with a keyboard player in a five piece line up, she sometimes plays completely
alone – there’s a sense of freedom within her structure, she does pretty
much hold to the frame of the tracks as found on the albums, it would not
surprise if she was to gallop off somewhere different though. You get the
feeling no two Rose Kemp gigs will ever be quite the same – no automatic
pilot here. Her British rock heritage is glowing up there on the stage
tonight, heritage well documented - daughter of Steeleye Span’s Maddy Prior
and Rick Kemp - brought up on the stage she now commands; swaying there,
chewing her gum, hair and guitar swaying, all in black, lost in her zone,
witchy, pagan – powerfully heavy songs, epic songs that pull you
and her in until she can’t remember who she is or where we are. Innocence
shrouds the gaze of the Dirty Glow - lost in it all until she gets to the
end, rubs her eyes and politely thanks everyone before taking time to tune
up, grab breath and head us out there again... out in to a wholeness of
sounds. Exhilarating gig, stimulating night....

'The
696 Form compels licensees who wish to hold live music events in 21London
Boroughs to report to the police the names, addresses, aliases and telephone
numbers of performers, and most worryingly, the likely ethnicity of their
audience. Failure to comply could result in fines or imprisonment. We believe
this places unnecessary and frankly Orwellian powers in the hands of the
Metropolitan Police, an institution which does not have the best record
of racial fairness. The 696 form can only serve to deter the staging of
live musical events - a positive form of activity in London and all cities
- stifle free expression and quite possible penalise certain genres of
music and ethnic audiences. It is an intrusion too far.'

SINGLE
OF THE WEEKRALFE
BAND – Attics/Stumble (Loose) – Now this is good, this is a little different
in a very good way. Attic is an instrumental, a folky polka stomp,
a refined zig zag of polka dance, an alt.folk thing that really doesn’t
prepare you fully for the wonderfully wordy Stumble and the twisted
trees and the robots searching the palaces. Oly Ralfe is a musician and
wordsmith as well as an artist and film maker - he directed The Ballad
Of AJ Weberman, a documentary about a Bob Dylan stalker and a film
that won the Raindance award at the British Independent Film Awards – he
is also a Mighty Boosh collaborator, cameo appearances and his distinctive
artwork can be found in that good looking new book of theirs (anyone want
to buy me a Christmas present?)... How are we going to describe this? Politely
restrained psychopathic zig zag folk-waltz music, a journey down a whole
different side street that you never noticed was there before even though
you walk down that road everyday? A side street full of all kinds of inviting
colour and people dancing and all strangely different and incredibly catchy
and circling around us now - calling out names and this is all very delightfully
good and slightly English and surreal enough to soften the hardest of hearts
while those twisted trees scowl in the breeze - www.ralfeband.com
or www.loosemusic.com

ALSO
CHECK OUTSILVERY
- You Give A Little Love (Blow Up) - Genius move from Silvery, now
if Steam Punk does actually exist then this must be it, time to party like
it’s 1929! That song from the Bugsy Malone movie that they do now and again
live - here as a single in all their Art Deco Blur in a whirl with Sparks
glory and you give a little love and it all comes back to you - and yes,
the perfect antidote to all the doom, gloom and prohibition... No doubting
it, it all must be worthwhile, good friends will always make you smile.
Silvery are going from strength to strength with their English pop and
Victorian fairground rides and H.G Wells time machines and bandsman uniforms
and big flowers and... An inspired single, you’ll drive every one mad with
it spinning on repeat. www.myspace.com/silverytheband
or www.blowuprecords.com

LOS
– Ba Ba Ba (self release white label 7”) – The impressive Surrey three
piece back with another limited edition self released slice of delicious
black vinyl. Fronted by the forceful voice of Helen Sargent, they’re an
alternative three piece with a loose blues/grunge feel to them, a bit of
White Stripe rawness (as we’ve pointed out before) and this time sinking
in to the depths with their heartbroken blues. Doing their already rather
distinctive and instinctive thing with bag loads of impressive edgy style
– especially with the beautifully downbeat blues drenched third track What
Mother Said - something rather good starting to emerge here –
www.myspace.com/wearelos
or www.wearelos.com

THE
FM FLASH – Being A Safe Place (Workalone) – Three track single, mid-paced
instrumental post rock tunes. All very ‘nice’ in a quietly restrained slow
moving minimal building Mono, Explosions in The Sky, Low kind of way. Delicate
and restrained, not really taking it anywhere we haven’t already been before
though (do we need it to?). All very pleasant and uplifting and all very
nice and soothing – www.myspace.com/thefmflash

KONG
– Leather Penny (Brew) - Broken one track CDr in the post, just snippets
of the track on line, Manchester’s Kong are good though, a Fugazi-fused
gallop of Melvin-like heavy post-punk rock that’s well worth your time
– www.brewrecords.net or www.myspace.com/kongdom

I AM
IMMUNE – Entropy (Line Out) – Modern sounding indie electro rock with a
healthy new romantic undertone – well a lot more than an undertone, massive
slice of new romantic electro-glam. Electro soundcapes and textures very
much based within strong songs. Not a million miles away from the (pretty
much forgotten) Inaura actually with their dark Duran Duran/Cure slants
and their dark forests – One for you disciples of lush electro goth pop
– www.lineoutrecords.com /
www.iamimmune.co.uk

BROKEN
ARM - Shields Mystical (Sea) - Some kind of evil feedback and static and
jagged edge dissonant noise gives way to a forcefully violent drum and
we’re off and running straight in to some determined slices of short sharp
secret-eyed garage noise rock wrapped in anything you damn well like. Like
a dog on your leg, flailing guitar abuse and on the edge vocal lines -
out of Leeds and up to their knees is punky hardcore alternative evidence
burning. Tightly wound and leaving cuts, five short sharp blasts of feral
wired up awkward slashes of edgy energy. Urgent punk rock straight out
of the garage, not just noise though, bit of depth, not just conversation,
they made a real connection – www.searecords.co.uk

MORIARTY
– Jimmy (Kartel) – Acoustic-delicate, Americana, country tales of buffalo
and being what you say - roam where you roam, do what you do. Quiet Americana
and folk and lead female voice and all very easy on the ear and the grass
is green and as someone else said; “Billie Holiday fronting Calexico”.
First breezy single off the rather fine new album Gee Whiz But This
Is A Lonesome Town that’s out in February next year... www.moriartyland.comx

CHRISTMAS
SINGLE OF THE WEEK

RAW
POO – Raw Poo Sings Christmas (Pumpkin) - All your Christmas favourites
and all your seasonal needs on one beer-splattered disc - well actually,
they say they could only manage three - three slices of Sarf London genius
all the same, and you can’t have too much of a good thing... They’re self
confessed “alcho-punks” and they sound like the drunken younger brothers
of Cock Sparrar or those Cockney Rejects messing up Christmas, kicking
over your tree and “decking the halls with f**king holly!”. Oi’d up version
of Jona Lewie’s Stop The Cavalry is the brilliant highlight, born
again as an essential Christmas street punk anthem! Slade get mangled,
as does Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree. And what the hell has
a pogotastic shoutalong fist-punching headbutt of a version of Abba’s Mamma
Mia got to do with bleedin’ Christmas? Genius move, enough to almost
make the Grinch smile, past the mince pies and wake me up when the damn
thing is all over... www.rawpoo.com
/ www.myspace.com/rawpoo /
www.myspace.com/pumpkinrecords

ALSO
CHECK OUT

DUMB
INSTRUMENT – Dear Santa / Boxes (Bad Cool) - Such gentle English
sounding songs, songs of delicate times and Christmas and darkness and
escaping in the batmobile – jingle bells, batman smells... Ho ho ho, and
all so Scottish, and such a rich Scottish voice and words that you can’t
help but pay attention to. Delicate folk songs with slightly jazzy piano,
art deco piano – kind of William D.Drake meets Frightened Rabbit with a
bit of Scott Joplin if you want us to be lazy about it. Dear Santa,
despite some of the family darkness, is so so poignantly delightful. Boxes
celebrates the delights of boxes – wooded boxes, cornflake boxes, fuseboxes
– four sides, a top and a bottom... so simple, so very neat... and all
wrapped in tartan wrapping paper - www.dumbinstrument.com

LOUIS
BARABBAS AND THE BLACK VELVET BAND – Writing My List - A dark Bad
Seed ho ho ho of a Christmas list song, Santa’s on his way via smoked filled
gin joints, with fiddles and vaudeville folk and ho ho ho... A whisky-soaked
rambler of a singer interacting with an equally as strong and spirited,
equally as rich female voice. The Black Velvet Band are from Manchester,
sound like they need more investigating... www.louisbarabbas.com
or www.blackvelvetband.co.ukx

We're
just going to tell you about the very very best demo recording once a week,
no more time for the average, only the most exciting - we're very very
selective, when we tell you it's good then it really is goooooooood...

DEMO
OF THE WEEKCHARLIE
BARNES – No Offenkk - Now this is bright and bold, he certainly has a powerful
voice. Strident songs, big songs, ambitious songs, great big hopeful songs.
Four impressive songs, he certainly has a fine voice. Flavoured with just
the right amount of restrained glitch and a few healthy slices of Radiohead
without really being too obvious about it. Sigur Ros Post rock brightness,
very much about the songs though, strong heroic melodic big-voiced songs
- touch of Scott Walker, Rufus Wainwright, the epic range of Amplifier
or Oceansize. Songs that tingle, stitching things back together, songs
taking flight – www.myspace.com/charliebarnes

ALSO
CHECK OUT

THE
PINE HILL HAINTS – Ghost Dance Sampler - Scratchy skiffle and American
rockabilly country. A union of junk musicians and story tellers. Not sure
where they’re from, they said something about the crushed skull of North
Alabama and talk of being a travelling band who never repeat the same set
twice. A rambling broken down freight-train jumping band is what they sound
like and not a million miles from the world of our old friend Seasick Steve.
Ever lasting joy in the heat of depression, banjos and fiddles and they
say they have a few old records released here and there... in to
the void you, he’s a walking talking dead man... don’t you mess around
with him .- www.myspace.com/pinehillhaints

BLACK
CHANNELS are from Perth, Scotland and they have three abrasive cuts of
screaming hardcore punk here waiting for you. They’ve evolved out of a
band called Allegro, a young band we were covering in a positive way a
couple of years back – they lost their drummer to a tragic accident. Good
to see they’re pulled together and are carrying on. This is an onslaught
of raw Converge/Gallows style crossover metallic hardcore punk energy,
tense stuff. Hardboiled, relentless, high-pitched energy – www.myspace.com/blackchannelsboat

LONG
HAT PINS – Found spoken word along with Long Hat Pins tunes and rather
different songs. The voice of the BBC’s Frank Gillard Describing the build-up
to D-Day on a track called Men Marching, Men Running, is one of
the stand outs, mixed in with that home made guitar sound that feels a
little like Lemon Jelly and their Staunton Lick. Imaginative home-made
collage and instrumentation, crisp lo-fi guitars that gently ring out in
their own primitive way, restrained drum boxes. Long Hat Pins is Salford’s
Tim Kelly. He has his own songs as well, and good they are, An Understand
Of Light and people’s history being a little more than just bones.
Bits of gentle dub and the sound of summer – summer rain. Songs that really
don’t sound obviously like anyone or anything Gentle sound experiments
and just something enjoyably different - always off down a different route
just when you think you know where things are going. Experimental songs,
always easy on the ear though, experiments are almost always hardboiled,
this is extremely pleasant, restrained delicate experiments, real alternatives,
positive lo-fi creativity, songs that work as songs, all really rather
enjoyable - www.myspace.com/longhatpins

SPOOKBOY
– An album’s worth of lo-fi space dub and flowing fluid electronica. Kind
of mellow home-made free-spirited thing you’d hear coming from free festival
sound systems back in the day. Not a lot more needs to be said, if you
like fest-dub then more than worth checking out - www.myspace.com/spookboy

LOS
CONIOS - Scuzzy and frantic and a little manic and off-hinge and raving
about someone being a paedophile or something or other.... Bag loads of
spaced-out high-speed wired-up punk rock and swearing and yelling and who
knows what. They sound like the kind of people you try to avoid meeting
on the street, cross over or nip in to the shop you never intending going
in just to avoid eye contact with ‘em. They’re on some kind of mission,
they’re not a zillion miles away from those headcases in Poisoned Electric
Head or Wizards Of Twiddly, apparently their live performance features
their acid mascot Mr Mash and Roger the resident nonce demon, along with
a newly recruited human lightshade (don’t ask us, we’re just reading the
press release, he’s got a nice dress on in the live photo though). Bits
of scratchy DIY Zappa and a touch of Butthole Surfers in their soup along
with the screaming and the mixed bowl full of quirk and anarchy. The note
here says they’ve sent a copy of their zine Sexy Times, no sign
of that in the package, go investigate - www.losconios.com

LOCI
– Medic - Dark moody grungy teenage angst-ridden guitar rock from Bristol/Cardiff.
Sometimes melodic, sometimes touching a little on the alternative nu-metal
side of things, a three piece getting out there and doing it. Need a little
more of a finger print in there at the moment, clearly early days... all
a little kind of heard it all before and needing to be developed, there
are hints though. Something in there with their Feeder/Foo Fighters/Smashing
Pumpkins ambition. Not bad as early-days early-moves grungy alternative
guitar rock goes, that’s all it really is for now though, worth keeping
a spare eye on just in case something developes – www.locionline.com

THE
DO OR DIES - Slick professional sounding radio friendly commercial indie
guitar pop/rock from Surrey. Hints of Smashing Pumpkins, Flaming Lips,
Cooper Temple Clause and a whole lot of commercial sounding alternative
indie rock things - all without really adding anything that ignites us
much. They do their slick thing rather well, wouldn’t be surprised to find
them all over daytime XFM or being raved about by Zane Lowe on Radio One
some day soon, go hit the link if you’re curious, mine is not to reason
why – www.thedoordies.com

Hello
folks (said the e.mail from 4AD), Here be a festive treat for you all in
the form of a 4AD label sampler, totally free for you to download and keep
forever. Go to this link
to enjoy said treats. Featuring highlights from this year's 4AD releases,
it's a pretty strong line-up. Here's who you’ll find

THE
THING – Now And Forever (Smalltown Superjazzz) - A four disc box set from
The Thing, the thought of it is almost too much to take, too much to ever
think about tearing in to the cellophane and breaking out the discs, where
to start? Four discs, three audio, one DVD. The box contains their long
out of print first two albums from 2000 and 2001 – The Thing and
She knows, there’s a live DVD from 2005 where they’re joined by
Thurston Moore and there’s the 2007 Gluttony set – a never before
released 44 minute “improv suite”. Where do we start? This
is a free music explosion, improvised free jazz noise – “no cover, no roof,
no safety, no home”. Wild sax driven jazz and once again they sail us right
it the storm of their glorious art of noise. Jazz Review has asked if they
are the ultimate free-jazz band of today? There certainly is an argument
that says the answer to that question is yes (though I suspect Weasel Walter
might like to say something about that). Ever flowing free jazz and improvised
noise that knows when to slow and take a breath or two. I guess no
one but an already committed fan of The Thing (and I’d happily include
myself in that group of people) is going to want to go out and buy a four
disc box set – if you are already a fan then this is well worth checking
out - great music, great packaging, great booklet and excellent sleeve
notes – if you’re new to The Thing then I’d maybe start with the brilliant
Two Bands And A Legend album, (see Organ 211
for review) and then go explore whatever else The Thing have on the always
good Smalltown Superjazzz label, work yourself up to this rather tasty
box sex as it were... www.smalltownsuperjazzz.com

The
FRESHWHIP art collective have a rather good looking show at the Brighton
Fishing Museum gallery on 12th/13th/14th December Freshwhip was spawned
in early 2008 by Katie Mac, Gavin Edwards and Phil Wayman under the guise
of Popcorny, Ugbot and Mister Phil. The Freshwhip ethos evolves around
the production of bright bold artworks, often involving humour – bold multi-media
creativity that includes screen printing, stencils, sculpture, t-shirts
- and all very striking it is, fresh whipped indeed, go explore over at
www.freshwhip.co.uk

Schhhhhneeeeews?
What's that? - go see, where would we be without the balance that SchNews
offers, not saying that they're always right, not saying we agree with
everything thay say, we agee with a lot though and everything should be
questioned, damn glad they're there to throw out a question or two and
tell us what's really going on out there - www.schnews.org.uk

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